Lok Sabha Election 2024 Updates: Political developments are heating up as the country moves closer to the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Ludhiana MP Ranvneet Singh Bittu's entry to BJP, row over Congress leader Supriya Shrinate's remark on Kangana Ranaut, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi for the general polls, candidate lists of parties have been dominating the pre-poll news headlines.
The schedule for Lok Sabha elections 2024 was announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16. The poll body announced that voting for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will take place in seven phases, starting April 19, while the counting of votes will take place on June 4.
While voting for Phase 1 will take place on April 19, polling for Phase 2 to Phase 7 will take place on: April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its list of leaders who would be campaigning for party candidates in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The list of star campaigners names top leaders of the BJP, including PM Modi, JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari among others.
A comment by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Lok Sabha election candidate Kangana Ranaut has sparked a major political clash between the two parties, with the former reminding the latter of similar remarks made by the actor in the past.
Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate and HS Ahir have been receiving massive backlash from the BJP for their alleged "derogatory comments" against actress Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat.
Shrinate allegedly made objectionable remarks about Kangana Ranaut in a now-deleted Instagram post. Ahir, state joint co-ordinator of Kisan Congress, also made derogatory remarks against Kangana Ranaut.
Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu quit Congress and joined BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Tuesday. After joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bittu thanked PM Modi and said that he is confident that the Prime Minister shares a lot of love for Punjab.
Ravneet Singh Bittu further said that PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah want to do a lot of developmental work in Punjab.
While voting for Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha election 2024 will take place on April 19, polling for Phases 2 to 7 will take place on: April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
A total of 102 constituencies from 21 states/UTs will vote in Phase 1, while 89 constituencies from 14 states/UTs will vote in the second phase. The third phase includes 94 constituencies from 12 states/UTs, 96 constituencies from 10 states/UTs will vote in the fourth phase, 49 constituencies from eight states/UTs in fifth, 57 constituencies from seven state/UTs in the sixth and 57 constituencies from eight states/UTs will vote in the last phase on June 1.
The arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 have dominated the news headline lately as his party claims the move is orchestrated by the BJP-led central government to jeopardize its poll performance.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 'scam'.
Kejriwal's party AAP has slammed the central government over his arrest ahead of the general polls and asserted that he would continue to function as CM from custody.
Speaking at a public rally in Uttarakhand Union Minister Smriti Irani said, "If there had been a government of the Gandhi family in Delhi - would the free vaccine have reached everyone, would free ration have reached everyone, would 10 crore women have got free cylinder, would One Rank One Pension have been implemented, would Article 370 have been abrogated, would the grand Ram Temple have been constructed in Ayodhya?
BJP South Chennai constituency candidate Tamilisai Soundarajan started her election campaign from Koyambedu in the city. Tamilisai Soundarajan, quit her post as Telangana Governor and rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu earlier this month.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut shared a list of a total of 17 candidates for Lok Sabha elections. According to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction's candidate list, Anil Desai will be contest from Mumbai South Central parliamentary constituency.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari offered prayers at his residence before leaving for filing his nomination for the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and NCP leader Praful Patel were also present.
YSRCP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be kicking off election campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls today with a 21-day bus tour named 'Memanta Siddham' (We are all ready) from Idupulupaya in Kadapa district.
The bus tour will be Jagan's first election campaign post the announcement of the legislative assembly and Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16.
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is also busy with election campaigning. He has already completed two days of campaigning in Kuppam, his home constituency.
On Congress leader Supriya Shrinate's "objectionable" post on actor BJP candidate from Mandi Kangana Ranaut, former Himachal Pradesh CM and LoP Jairam Thakur said, "Not just Kangana, but the way Supriya Shrinate spoke about Mandi is absolutely wrong."
"Mandi does not mean what she has said. It is the land of Mandavya Rishi. It is named 'Mandi' after Rishi Mandavya... Everyone is agitated after the remark made against Mandi's daughter... Though she removed the post, the way other Congress leaders have spoken on it in social media, it is very unfortunate...," Thakur said.
Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari held a roadshow in Maharashtra's Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency ahead of filing his nomination.
BJP's Dilip Ghosh sparked a controversy on Tuesday after he mocked the family background of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a purported video clip. While the TMC filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Ghosh, alleging that he violated the model code of conduct (MCC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda has also issued a notice seeking clarification from the Bengal BJP leader.
The Trinamool Congress shared the purported video clip in which Ghosh was heard making the remarks and claimed that it reflects the "DNA of the saffron camp".
The former West Bengal BJP president, who is contesting from the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat, mocked TMC's slogan of "Bangla Nijer Meye ke chai [Bengal wants its own daughter]".
"When she goes to Goa, she says she is the daughter of Goa. In Tripura, she says she is the daughter of Tripura. First, let her clarify...," Dilip Ghosh had said.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of BR Ambedkar, has severed ties with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra. Prakash Ambedkar said that his will party will go solo in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This comes a day after Prakash Ambedkar's party had given an ultimatum on deciding on his demands for seats.
Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi claimed nine Lok Sabha seats and announces candidates on eight seats on Wednesday.
Union Minister and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday filed his nomination from the Nagpur constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday apologised for his remarks on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that triggered a massive controversy. The apology came hours after BJP chief Nadda sought an explanation from Ghosh, who was heard mocking the family background of Mamata Banerjee in a purported video clip.
Maintaining that his party and other people have reservations about his choice of words, Ghosh said, "If it is so, I am sorry for that."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the Lok Sabha Polls in Uttar Pradesh from Meerut on March 31 with a public rally.
The BJP has fielded Arun Govil from Meerut, the actor who played Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan in the 80s.
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning April 19. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to Parliament, the maximum from any state, will vote in all seven phases.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its list of star campaigners for Uttarakkhand, The featured top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran and state BJP chief K Annamalai on Wednesday filed their nominations for the April 19 Lok Sabha polls. Maran filed his nomination papers for the Chennai Central constituency of which he is the incumbent MP. Annamalai is contesting from Coimbatore.
Annamalai was accompanied by BJP Mahila Morcha chief and MLA Vanathi Sreenivasan, among others.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday filed his nomination as a BJP candidate for the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. Exuding confidence on his party, Gadkari said, "With people's blessings, the NDA government will retain power under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Maharashtra will see a huge development under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar."
In connection Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam's purported remarks against Sena leader Amol Kritikar's candidature from Mumbai North-West seat, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Why is he (Sanjay Nirupam) talking in BJP's voice? Congress party is themselves responsible for the way ED, CBI and I-T are being misused. Such remarks and accusations are getting opposition leaders arrested or questioned."
The political debate escalated on Wednesday when Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) for prematurely announcing the Lok Sabha candidates for four seats in Mumbai.
Citing the move as a "violation of alliance dharma" Nirupam called the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader a "khichdi chor".
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to BJP's Dilip Ghosh, Congress' Supriya Shrinate. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the notices were served in connection with their respective remarks targeting women.
According to the apex poll body, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh's comments against Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate's remarks against BJP poll candidate and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut were 'undignified and in bad taste'.
The Aam Aadmi Party's MP and lone Lok Sabha member Sushil Kumar Rinku joined the BJP on Wednesday along with party MLA Sheetal Angural. This development came amid the ongoing row over the arrest of AAP's national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Rinku, the MP from Jalandhar in Punjab, and Angural, who was elected to the state Assembly from Jalandhar West, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde.
"I have joined BJP with one motive which is to contribute in making of new Jalandhar. I don't have any fear. The ones who are involved in any scam or having government agencies investigate them should be afraid",Rinku said after joining BJP.
In connection with the show-cause notice issued to BJP MP Dilip Ghosh over his derogatory remark against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, minister Shashi Panja said, "The Election Commission had assured us yesterday that they will look into it... Dilip Ghosh always uses this kind of language and that is why we said that some severe action has to be taken against him..."
Commenting on Aam Admi Party (AAP) MP Sushil Kumar Rinku joining the saffron camp right ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, "I believe that these people have betrayed the people of Punjab. On one hand, AAP is trying to save democracy. On the other hand, these people have surrendered before a dictator."
Congress on Wednesday is holding a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its list of candidates for the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declined to offer Lok Sabha candidacy to Karnataka leader BV Naik, his followers resorted to extreme measures in protest.
Supporters Shivakumar and Shivamurthy made an attempt to end their lives by pouring petrol on the roads. Their suicide endeavour was thwarted when another supporter intervened and confiscated the petrol can from them.
In addition to this drastic action, BV Naik's supporters resorted to blocking the main roads by setting tyres ablaze as part of their demonstration.
BJP appoints Lok Sabha poll in-charges and co-incharges for several states and UTs.
Congress' top leaders met on Wednesday to discuss the party's Lok Sabha poll candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Goa and Jharkhand. However, the names for Amethi and Rae Bareli are yet to be finalised.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary K C Venugopal and the members of its Central Election Committee (CEC), including senior leaders Ambika Soni, Madhusudan Mistry, Uttam Kumar Reddy and Salman Khurshid, were present at the meeting.
The Bhratiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released list of two candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Independent MP Navneet Rana to contest from Amravati.